Monday, April 23, 2012

Oven-Roasted Beef Brisket, Texas Style

I got rid of my smoker several years back. I found I was only using it a couple of times a year and I was simply not a fan of devoting twelve hours to tending a fire and checking water levels. While I miss the wood smoke flavor in some of the dishes, I found I could come really close to smoker-cooked food by just using my oven. If you've tried my recipe for Oven-Roasted Baby-Back Ribs, you know that they don't give much up in the flavor department: http://terrygruggen.blogspot.com/2011/03/oven-roasted-baby-back-ribs.html

The same holds true for this recipe from Tom Perini. His combination of a fabulous dry rub with a slow braise yields an incredibly delicious brisket. And it doesn't take twelve hours of tending a smoker. Just four hours in the oven gives you one spectacular beef brisket to serve your guests.

When it's done, just slice it up and serve it with some of the delicious juice spooned over the top. My favorite way to serve it is on some fresh wheat buns, again spooning the juice over the meat. You could certainly add your favorite BBQ sauce, but I find that the rub and the cooking juices have more than enough flavor to satisfy my taste buds. Add a little corn on the cob and some really cold beer....and you have the makings of one great meal. This recipe serves ten.

Dry Rub Ingredients

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 bay leaf, crushed

Beef Brisket Ingredients

4 pounds beef brisket, trimmed

4 cups beef stock

Directions

Preheat oven to 350º.

Combine dry rub ingredients. Season brisket on both sides with the rub.

Place brisket on the bottom of a roasting pan. Roast uncovered for one hour.

Add enough beef stock to yield 1/2" of liquid in the bottom of the pan.

About Me

My mother disliked cooking. Her greatest food moment came when Pop Tarts were introduced. Pop Tarts meant that an entire meal, breakfast, could be cooked in a toaster. Her mother, Goldie Dunleavy, loved to cook. Goldie and Frank (her private eye husband and renowned butter aficianado) lived in a small apartment by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Goldie's kitchen was 10' X 4'. But the artistry of what she could do with that tiny kitchen and that tiny stove is beyond words. My earliest memories are of her baking me date cookies from scratch. From scratch! Toss together flour, butter, eggs and dates and heaven emerges from the oven. And the Thanksgiving feast that would come forth from that 40 square feet defied description. The fact that we had to eat that feast in an apartment that was kept at 82 degrees is another story. But because of Goldie, I developed a lifelong love of cooking and a steadfast commitment to never let the thermostat get higher than 68 degrees. Grab a sweater, kids, and come enjoy your delicious dinner!